Greek jazz or jazz by Greeks? This was a question that had been lingering for many years within the Greek jazz community and was often a point of contention, having its roots in the belief that jazz in Greece had amateur characteristics and the level of the musicians was lower than that of their foreign counterparts.
Recently, radical changes have taken place. Greek musicians perfected their technique, studied the genre, broadened their horizons, and went beyond the Greek borders. With much effort and personal work, they got rid of their inferiority complexes and created a new reality.
The question became relevant again on the occasion of the release of the book “100 Years of Greek Jazz” by the music critic and author Fontas Trousas. From the very early performances of musical theater and popular songs, where jazz was detected as a distinct musical characteristic, to the present day, the author unfolds a journey with invaluable information and key stations.
Star in Athens
Some of the key moments and musicians include 1927, when American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist and composer Sidney Bechet performed in Athens, along with the great jazz concert of artist Josephine Baker at the Pallas in 1934, the year that Greek composer and conductor Yannis Kyparissis founded the Athens Jazz Symphony, and the concerts of giants like Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Keith Jarrett and Miles Davis.
The reader discovers aspects unknown to the general public, such as post-war poet and novelist Dinos Christianopoulos’ lecture “A Defense of Jazz” in 1953 at the cafeteria of the Central Intelligence Agency; the relationship of conductor Dimitris Mitropoulos with jazz; and the first time improvised jazz was played in Greece in 1965, when the trio of Soun Inc. performed at the opening of the legendary “Amy’s Ark” in Plaka, a pioneering artistic space of the versatile Minos Argyrakis and his wife, Amy Mims.
We follow the paths of artists who were known for other genres of music (including Mimis Plessas, Yiannis Spartakos, Gerasimos Lavranos, Tzeni Vanou), as well as other decisive figures, incidents, festivals, institutions, and venues such as the historic jazz club of Barakos, along with magazines and other important efforts after the 1960s. Finally, the book includes a detailed catalog of discography from the 1960s to the present.
The author does not convey anything casually, nothing is established as a given. The meticulous documentation through authoritative, indisputable sources contributes to the cool assessment of events and situations. The various events are presented within their socio-historical context. The book, free from sterile academic rigidities, is read with exceptional interest.
Can today’s Greek jazz musicians continue this 100-year history? “Greek jazz has always concerned a specific audience, as it is not pop,” Trousas says. “Yes, it is popular music, but over the course it became more strongly associated with creative improvisation, avant-garde and local traditions. All of this has given jazz a demanding form, which means that in order to follow it, one must be trained themselves. Even the ‘easiest’ forms of jazz have demands.”
The author points out that Greek jazz is in a good place today, with positive prospects. “As long as musicians and the public are educated, things will move forward – and this is what is happening today in the Greek scene, which is in a very good phase. The prospects are positive, especially when there are opportunities for collaborations and appearances in clubs, festivals and stages not only domestically, but also abroad. Of course, there are countries that are ahead, as is the case in Norway for example, and this is a point in which, as a country, we are lagging behind. There are no jazz institutions in Greece that open up avenues and provide solutions. So this type of assistance is required from above, because jazz cannot develop relying only on its audience,” he says.
It is true, however, that jazz in Greece has gone through difficult years. Sakis Papadimitriou, pianist, composer, writer, and an emblematic figure of Greek jazz, remembers the genre’s denigration in relation to classical music during the military dictatorship, when, for example, the then harsh rules of the conservatories recognized the saxophone only as a classical instrument. These distinctions disappeared years ago and the musicians who served the two genres have crossed paths many times. “Jazz musicians studied classical music and established classical musicians played jazz. Jazz, with its ability to assimilate, was influenced by folk, traditional songs by Giannidis, Hadjidakis, Theodorakis. Things evolved rapidly in technology, performance, and theatricality,” he explains.
Something that was lost over the years was the dance that accompanied jazz music. “In the ’50s we danced to jazz. Today, despite the exceptions, a group does not play for the people to dance to jazz,” he continues.
“The musicians acquired great technique by studying at the music department of the Ionian University and at schools in Greece and abroad. However, the improviser (a term inextricably linked to jazz) will improve himself, not only through books and constant learning of music, but also through other arts, new technologies, and current conditions. This is where the issue of high technique comes in. In jazz, the personal element prevails. Technique is essential, but ideas and the mood are also needed for the musicians to open up and free themselves.”
In recent years, however, Greek jazz musicians have been “opening up,” not only musically, but also by traveling abroad and finding an international audience. “From the first concert with Primavera en Salonico abroad at the Womad festival in July 1996, the audience didn’t care if they were seeing a Greek band. They came to the festivals unsuspecting and liked what they heard regardless of our nationality. But the reviews that our concerts and albums have received on ECM over the years have always been very positive. Only once do I remember a negative review that was made for nonmusical reasons,” says the acclaimed performer Savina Yannatou, who combines traditional music with jazz elements and has a dynamic presence in free jazz improvisation.
“Today, the technique of the musicians in Greek jazz has been significantly upgraded, and musicians have now multiplied. The same goes for free jazz, for which I can have an opinion, where expression is free and there are now spaces for this genre,” she tells Kathimerini. “In foreign countries (like the US and Scandinavian countries), in addition to the abundant state funding and the demanding public, there is also a distinct physiognomy in the sound on the part of the musicians. Perhaps if we, in Greece, were to acquire our own identity in this genre of music, there would be a special impetus.”
But is the level of musicians high enough for the development of a Greek jazz scene?
Petros Klampanis, jazz bassist, composer, arranger, and producer living between New York and Athens, with an outstanding international career, identifies a fundamental deficit in the conditions and infrastructure. “The current music scene in Greece in jazz and improvisation has a very high level of musicians, strong personal voices and a new generation that moves comfortably between tradition, composition and international musical reality. Greek musicians can stand anywhere, because they have technique, imagination and often a special sense of melody and collectivity. What is missing is not the abilities, but the conditions: infrastructure, stable support, production, networking and an ecosystem that allows for continuity and evolution,” Klampanis says.
More venues
Likewise, Tania Giannouli, who is carefully shaping a unique portrait of a pianist and composer abroad, expresses her personal anxiety. “Although jazz in Greece is flourishing, venues and festivals remain few. Abroad, the Greek scene is underrepresented. The competition is enormous and for me, a female musician from the south, finding and establishing my place in Europe was a great challenge. I travel, I play at major festivals and I see that our country lacks a promotion plan. In the rest of Europe, there are funding opportunities, while here the support is almost nonexistent. Despite the solitary nature and the difficulties of my work, I feel proud to do what I love most,” she explains.
All these years, Greek jazz has been existing alongside its audience, in the venues where it has been hosted. One of them is the historic Half Note Jazz Club in Athens, which has been operating for 45 years. “Especially in the last 20 years, and having emblematic foreign artists as a point of comparison, I can see the great leaps that Greek musicians have made in terms of general musical knowledge, technique on musical instruments, work ethic and respect, creating their own audience and, above all, confidence in their own strengths,” says its artistic director, Thrassos Irinis.
Great foreign names and most Greek jazz musicians have appeared at the widely known club in the Mets district. “It may still be that the marketing of Greek musicians and their presence in international institutions is not satisfactory, but historical changes are taking place there, too. In a country without organized support from state institutions, musicians are struggling to build the jazz tradition that we lack. A few years ago I was simply optimistic. Now I can confidently say that a miracle is happening in this area.” he says.
